One journalist wrote that he was well off the pace suggesting that he had a higher expectation than others and in particular Ambrose himself.

The fact is that Ambrose himself said right from the first announcement of his return that it was going to be a tough and he was under no illusions as to how difficult it was going to be.

Going into the weekend he had only done a few laps at the fast-flowing Lakeside circuit to launch his new Xbox sponsorship followed by laps at Queensland Raceway and both circuits are totally different to the demanding Homebush circuit.

In fact Homebush is recognised as the most difficult circuit on the championship calendar and that together with diabolical weather conditions that prevailed on both days made it an even bigger task to face.

It was nine years since Ambrose had raced a V8 Supercar and it needs to be remembered that the new generation of car bears very little resemblance, from a technical aspect, to the car that carried him to two V8 titles.

The new cars have a control chassis with a rear-mounted transaxle and the handling is significantly different plus the cars now feature a six-speed sequential gearbox in contrast to the H-pattern gearbox that he has been used to in the States.

The difference between a Sprint Cup NASCAR and a V8 Supercar is chalk and cheese and while there were 38 races in the Sprint Cup championship only two were on road courses with the rest on ovals where you only turn left.

A key ingredient to success in circuit racing is the relationship between the driver and his engineer and the ability of both to disseminate the data to improve the car subject to the conditions.

The slightest change to setup can make a big difference to the end result so having a solid understanding of what is required is essential to success.

This is particularly the case with V8 Supercars where the entire field in qualifying at some circuits such as Symmons Plains and Barbagello would be separated by less than a second.

Bearing in mind a tough unknown circuit, new team and an unfamiliar car, Ambrose did very well and as would be expected approached the task in a totally professional and workmanlike manner.

In the rain-shortened third race he started from 23rd position and was up to 16th by the time the race was declared and his fastest lap was only one second slower than the fastest of the race.

At one point during the race he was matching the pace of the race leaders so clearly there was an improvement from the start of the weekend.

The other issue to be addressed is whether the Penske/Dick Johnson Racing team will run more than one car in next year's championship.

The indication at this stage is that they will only run Ambrose as a single car entry.

With teams already locking in co-drivers for the three-round endurance championship the next question is who will partner Ambrose at Sandown, Bathurst and the Gold Coast.

There are not too many options even at this early stage although social media is suggesting the out-of-work Steven Johnson could be a possibility or even Russell Ingall who will not be competing in the championship next year.